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Hanover Township resident James Watkinson Jr. has announced he is running for Luzerne County Council as a Democrat.

Born and raised in the Wyoming Valley, Watkinson, 34, attended Meyers High School in Wilkes-Barre before leaving at age 17 for Richmond, Virginia, where he lived until 2010.

Watkinson is general manager at Metz Culinary Management in Dallas and continues pursuing a college education. He has held other managerial positions in the hospitality industry, including work as an executive chef at a country club.

He moved back to this area to get married and “to try and give back to the community I loved.” A father of two, he and his wife have been married for four years.

Watkinson said the area has “reached a level of discontent” due to ongoing nepotism.

“We continue to see the same problems over and over again because we just keep recycling our politicians. This is nothing new. This has been the county’s problem for well over 100 years,” he wrote in his announcement.

Watkinson wants to provide a fresh perspective and rethink how problems are addressed with the goals of reducing unemployment and drug addiction and welcoming new businesses.

“We won’t get anywhere if we don’t start thinking outside the box a little and, unfortunately, I don’t see that happening,” he wrote.

Watkinson
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